News Analysis: Mullah Omar okays peace process; prospects for peace in Afghanistan brighten

There is now hope for peace in the war-battered Afghanistan after Mullah Mohammad Omar, the reclusive leader of the Taliban, announced his group's readiness to join the peace dialogue with the Afghan government.

On the eve of Eid-ul Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Omar described the overtures for peace by the Afghan government as "legitimate."

Ramadan lasts for 28, 29 or 30 days depending on the moon sighting and Eid-ul Fitr this year falls on Friday.

In his message posted on the Taliban website Wednesday, Omar said: "If we look into our religious regulations and history, we can find that meetings and peaceful interactions with the enemies of Islam is not prohibited but what is unlawful is meeting with the enemies overlooking Islamic principles."

For the past 14 years, the Taliban had steadfastly rebuffed offers for talks made by Afghan government. This is the first time since the collapse of Taliban reign in late 2001 that the Taliban chief formally announced his support for the talks.

But Omar noted that the objective behind their political endeavors and their contacts and interactions with Afghans and other countries "is to bring an end to the occupation of foreign forces and to establish an independent Islamic system in our country."

Omar's rare statement came on the heels of exploratory talks between representatives of the government and the Taliban held early this month in Pakistan's scenic town of Murree near Islamabad.

During their initial meeting in Murree, the two sides agreed to hold a second round of talks after Ramadan.

Also on Wednesday, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani told the media that the second round of talks between Taliban and Afghan delegations would be held within the next two weeks. During the second round, the Taliban are expected to list down their demands, Ghani said.

Meanwhile, a senior member of the Afghan government-backed peace body,the High Peace Council (HPC), had cautiously welcomed Omar's statement but called upon the Taliban to agree to a ceasefire at the earliest time possible.

"First of all they (Taliban) should agree to a ceasefire because it is only under a ceasefire that peace talks could prosper," Mohammad Ismael Qasimyar told Xinhua.

Qasimyar, who is an advisor on international relations with the HPC,that the HPC welcomes any step that would bolster the peace process in the country.

Despite Omar's qualified statement, Afghan political watchers have expressed optimism on the prospects for peace in Afghanistan.

"Mullah Omar's statement apparently indicates that the Taliban outfit has realized that war is not the solution to the country's lingering crisis but an obstacle in our goal of achieving peace," General (Rtd) Atiqullah Omarkhil, a respected political and military analyst, told Xinhua.

Omarkhil said that the emergence of followers of the Islamic State or Daesh in Afghanistan, who have challenged Taliban fighters in some parts of the country, could the main reason why Mullah Omar and the Taliban have agreed to talk peace with the Kabul government.

Latest reports said that scores of Taliban militants have been killed by Daesh fighters in Nangarhar, Nuristan and Farah provinces over the past couple of months.

In a letter sent to Daesh chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in Syria two weeks ago, the Taliban leadership urged him to stay away from Afghanistan since, according to them, there is no need to open new front alongside the mujahideen, or Taliban holy warriors, in the country.

Mullah Omar's statement also said that it is the legitimate right of the Taliban "to utilize all legal means and ways to achieve peace, because being an organized setup, we are responsible to our people and we are an integral part of human society and rely upon one another in the country."

Omar's statement also added: "All mujahideen and our countrymen should be confident that in the peace process, the rights of all Afghan citizens should be safeguarded."

According to Omarkhil, if the process could gradually move on, the Afghan government might offer key positions to Taliban leaders that would include ministers and other high-ranking officials in the peace accord with the Taliban. Endi